


A Song That Repeats

by writerdragonfly



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010), Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Post Canon SGA, Post Season 4 H50
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 23:03:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19094821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writerdragonfly/pseuds/writerdragonfly
Summary: Some faces you never forget. John Sheppard chases a shadow and uncovers something more.





	A Song That Repeats

**Author's Note:**

  * For [popkin16](https://archiveofourown.org/users/popkin16/gifts).



> Can stand alone as a one shot, but I’ll probably continue it anyway. 
> 
> I found this in my phone’s note section this morning. It was dated 10/27/2016 and I don’t remember writing it but ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

He's on leave, two days into his two weeks away from Atlantis. The city is keeping the San Fransisco Bay company, and he's been told not to return to the general area until the end of his two weeks. 

 

 

Rodney is still in Canada, probably headed to the airport now to meet him in Hawaii. It had been a compromise, Hawaii. Rodney didn't really care where they went, as long as he could use John as a convenient excuse to duck out of his sister's grasp a few days in. 

 

It wasn't as if Rodney didn't love her, of course. But even with them patching their relationship up, Rodney still had issues spending long swathes of time with her and her family. 

 

Especially since he'd gotten the news a few months ago.

 

Hawaii had been a compromise for John, too. It was the closest he could  get to experiencing Atlantis without being there, and just on the edges of where he could still faintly feel her if anything went wrong. 

 

Not that he expected anything to. 

 

He's sitting at the edge of a little island bar, taking advantage of Rodney's distance to indulge in some sort of citrusy mixed drink, when he sees her. 

 

The woman walks by with a hand near her mouth, hiding a laugh that makes the hair on the back of his neck rise. 

 

She looks just like his mother, only older. Sounds just like he remembered.

 

 

But his mother is dead. 

 

 

He tries to follow her, but she loses him easily enough. 

 

-x-

 

By the time Rodney shows up, John is already exhausted from a long night of searching for the woman. 

 

Rodney knows something is wrong immediately, too many years knowing each other making a lot of secrets like that impossible to keep. 

 

He tells Rodney the whole story and not once does Rodney think it's not real. 

 

It's a relief. 

 

-x-

 

Rodney catches enough information from hacking cameras to come up with a name. Not hers, but her companion's. 

 

Catherine Rollins, former US Navy Intelligence. From there, Rodney pulls every file he can get on her. There isn't much, a brief stint with a Hawaiian task force, and then she almost quietly disappears from the workforce. 

 

In any case, Rollins is a good lead. 

 

Until she isn't. They make it to her rental only to find she'd cleared out the evening before. 

 

"Went back to volunteering in the Middle East. Her ex didn't take her back after she left him to stay over there, from what I understand."

 

So they go where they can, hoping the ex boyfriend might just know who the woman is. 

 

Who the doppelgänger for his mother is.

 

-x-

 

Rodney gives his hand a reassuring squeeze before he releases it. John shares a quiet little smile, and then knocks. 

 

There's the faint rustling of someone rushing to the door, and then there's a a stocky blond haired man with a towel over his shoulder at the door. 

 

"Whoa, hey! McGarrett!" The blond calls over his shoulder once he sees John. It makes him a little uncomfortable. 

 

"I can assume you're not Steven McGarrett then?" John asks with a smirk. The blond shakes his head.

 

 "No, I'm not. I'm his partner, Detective Danny Williams. And you two are?"

 

"John Sheppard and Dr. Rodney McKay," John introduces with a wave at Rodney. He shakes Detective William's hand and glares at Rodney until he does as well. 

 

And then a tall tanned man comes up behind the detective and John thinks he gets why the detective immediately called for him. His picture doesn't do their somewhat vague resemblance justice. They could pass for siblings, perhaps cousins. It's not exact, but it's enough to be eerie. 

 

"Danno?"

 

"Steve, this is John Sheppard and Dr. Rodney McKay," Detective Williams says, and Steve nods as he assessed them. 

 

"How can I help you?"

 

"Commander McGarrett, sir. We're grasping at straws a little here, please forgive us. I'm looking for a woman who was seen with Catherine Rollins two days ago. We were hoping you might know her."

 

"A friend of Cath's? I don't really know anyone who she might be with off the island but--"

 

"She was with her on the island, sir. I know it's a long shot, but..." John pulls out his wallet, flips to the inner pocket where he has an old family photo of him and Dave with their mother. He slips it out and passes it over.

 

 "I'm looking for this woman--" John manages, and Detective William's eyes flick up to meet his in surprise. 

 

"What... Get inside," McGarrett says suddenly, his eyes steely. He's looking around like there's someone dangerous around and it immediately puts both John and Rodney on edge. 

 

What the fuck is going on?

 

They go inside though, and McGarrett immediately locks the door and prowls to the back. The click of another lock makes the feeling of danger!danger! Even worse. 

 

"Why are you looking for my mother?" McGarrett snarls a minute later and the surprise on John and Rodney's faces must tell him something weird is going on. 

 

"I'm not," John starts, and he can immediately tell why McGarrett made a good SEAL, "I'm looking for mine."

 

-x-

 

McGarrett demands to see his ID, checks the birthdate three times before he taps his finger on the plastic and shows Williams. 

 

"What the actual fuck, Steve," Williams says, but he's got the same look as McGarrett. He knows why McGarrett is so uneasy. 

 

" _Fuck_ ," McGarrett punches the wall. It's not hard enough to do any damage, but it's obvious that he's pissed. 

 

John doesn't know why... except.

 

Why are you looking for my mother?

 

"Colonel, I think he's--"

 

"I know, Rodney."

 

"If he's your--"

 

"I know, McKay!" John says.

 

"How old were you?" McGarrett asks suddenly as he roots around in his desk. 

 

"How old was I?"

 

"When your mother died?"

 

How had he...?

 

"Eight. Dave was five." 

 

"Dave... You have a brother?"

 

"Yeah..."

 

"Steve, why is Doris back in Hawaii?"

 

"Because she lives to fuck with me?" McGarrett mumbles under his breath, and then louder, "I didn't even know she was back. Like Joe's gonna share anything true with me."

 

"You think my mother faked her death."

 

"It's a fucking habit of hers, so." McGarrett is obviously pissed off. 

 

And then John gets it. 

 

"How old were you?"

 

"Sixteen. Mary was twelve."

 

"Sister?"

 

"Yeah," McGarrett says, resigned. 

 

"You said her name was Doris?"

 

"Yeah. That's the name she married my father with. I don't know if it's her real name. She..."

 

"Doris McGarrett is a spook," Williams says. And it all starts to make sense. 

 

"If she's... The same woman..."

 

"Then feel lucky she didn't stay to fuck you up even more," Williams said. 

 

"Rodney, we have to--"

 

"Yes, I'm already calling. O'Neill's going to kill us," Rodney muttered, fiddling with his phone.

 

"When have we ever managed to take our entire leave?"

 

"There was that one time on MX--"

 

"Except we were marooned there it--"

 

"Yeah, but we had two weeks in--"

 

"And the villages tried to shoot--"

 

"Except you pulled me--"

 

"Yeah, so--"

 

"General O'Neill, we have--"

 

"Sorry," John apologizes as Rodney just walks off with his phone to his ear. 

 

"Are you two...?"

 

"Together? Yeah. Hasn't been long, but..."

 

"Long time coming?" Williams guessed, with a surprisingly open smile to McGarrett.

 

Oh. 

 

"Ten years, yeah."

 

"I think I'd killed Steve if he'd waited that long."

 

"Hey!"

 

"What, it's true."

 

Rodney came back in a moment later, his face stony. 

 

"Rodney?"

 

"O'Neill is checking into it. We're supposed to head to Tripler Army Medical Center for testing."

 

"You can't do it?" Williams asks Rodney. 

 

"Uh, no. I'm an astrophysicist not a medical doctor."

 

-x-

 

The pictures Steve hands him show the gentle aging of what is very likely their mother once she left them. 

 

John's never hated her before, but he really thinks he could now.

 

-x-

 

"Rodney, Sheppard." Jennifer's voice is oddly shy, but John isn't surprised. She hasn't spent any time with them since her and Rodney broke up, and he knows news of their new relationship has probably broken landspeed records in the SGC. Even if... Doesn't matter. 

 

"Keller."

 

Rodney studiously ignores her. John can't blame him. He wants to on his behalf. 

 

"I'm Dr. Keller. You must be Commander McGarrett?"

 

John lets the conversation fade to the background as he and Rodney exchange a few looks that pass for serious conversation. 

 

"We'll have the results in a few hours," Keller says. John nods. 

 

"Rodney--"

 

" _Don't_." Rodney forces out. 

 

"I never meant--"

 

"Yeah, well. I never--"

 

John pulled Rodney away before he'd say something he regretted. 

 

"Fucking hell, John, why didn't he warn me?"

 

-x-

 

They didn't return to McGarrett's house. Instead they headed into the task force offices. There was a couple of native Hawaiians and a black man huddled around the table in the center. 

 

The table was definitely awesome, even through the rose colored glasses of being used to ancient tech. 

 

The group looked up at their entrance.

 

"Boss, Danny. Who's your...?"

 

"Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, USAF. And Dr. Rodney McKay."

 

"Are they involved in the case?" 

 

"Not as far as I know," McGarrett said, before introducing them to the rest of his team. 

 

Kalakaua reminded him a little of Teyla. Mostly in that she could definitely kick his ass. 

 

"Do they know...?" John asked a few minutes later. They gave him the same curious look. 

 

"They found out when I did," McGarrett says. John nods. 

 

"I was--"

 

"McKay," Rodney answers. He immediately veers off into the closest office. 

 

"Boss, what's going on?"

 

"How are we going on the case," McGarrett deflected. 

 

"Still running searches for her identity--"

 

"Colonel, we have a problem!" McKay interrupts, marching out of the office. His face is carefully concealed panic. John knows that look. 

 

John feels it just as Rodney reaches him. 

 

"What's going on?"

 

"O'Neill thinks the Trust--"

 

"But I thought they--"

 

"Alpha site is compromised. O'Neill said they're moving it."

 

"But then?"

 

"We're being immediately recalled. But to Omega."

 

"Is that?"

 

"Major Lorne is in critical condition."

 

"How bad?"

 

"We've seen worse."

 

"Very reassuring, McKay. Is Zelenka?"

 

"Yes, we'll contact you as soon as we can, Commander," Rodney says back to McGarrett. John had forgotten. 

 

"I'll ask Keller to call you with the results. Not sure when we'll--"

 

"Duty calls, flyboy," McGarrett says knowingly. John smiles back at him. 

 

John is sure that it doesn't miss McGarrett's attention when he hands Rodney his side piece. 

 

-x-

 

Steve is exhausted. The return home to shower and get a few hours of sleep had been interrupted--though he and Danny had both managed to finish showering before the knock on the door. Colonel Sheppard--who was obviously dressed for vacationing--was an unexpected presence. 

 

The photo did look just like Doris, and the longer he spent with Sheppard, the more sure he was that they were brothers. 

 

He wondered what Doris's cover story had been there. 

 

And why she'd left them behind. Surely she wasn't that bad of a spy. 

 

"Duty calls, flyboy," Steve says. Sheppard smiles, and yeah? He recognizes that smile. 

 

"What is going on?" Lou asks once the pair of them leave. 

 

"There's a good chance Colonel Sheppard is Steve's older brother," Danny said matter of fact. 

 

"What? Really?"

 

"Yes, we went to Tripler for DNA testing before we came here. Now, can we...?"

 

-x-

 

Steve is still exhausted when he and Danny make it home a few hours later. Danny's arm is bandaged, but the bullet just scrapped his arm. It's not a bad end to a case, a little crazy but no one died and no one ended up in the hospital so he considers it a win. 

 

"Commander McGarrett," the man on their door step says with an outstretched hand, "Major General O'Neill, United States Air Force."

 

-x-

 

"We don't have a lot of time here," O'Neill is saying. Steve's just trying to wrap his head around "congratulations you have two older brothers."

 

"Is Sheppard okay?"

 

"He's fine. Sheppard and McKay are incredibly good at the saving thing. They'll be out of contact a few weeks while they get the base back in order."

 

Saving thing. Sheppard, he gets. But McKay? And astrophysicist? What could they...

 

"Are you telling me that Sheppard and McKay fight aliens?" Danny asks. Not how Steve would've phrased it. 

 

"Why would you ask that, Detective?"

 

"I can't see why else an astrophysicist would be a CSO on a military base."

 

"That would be classified."

 

-x-

 

It's almost a year before Sheppard and McKay come back. McKay's arm is in a sling and Sheppard is limping, but they're both L alive. It's somehow comforting. 

 

"Aren't you a little old to be getting beat up?"

 

"I didn't get beat up, I got tor--yes, I am a little old for bar fights," McKay lies. 

 

Steve doesn't miss that stutter. Tor. If he had to wager a guess, he'd say McKay was  tortured. 

 

"So..." Steve says awkwardly. John smirks.

 

Because if this is his brother, he can't keep calling him Sheppard. 

 

"Yes, this is very exciting. Now, the other Sheppard refuses to acknowledge John's choice in partners so would you like to help us plan the wedding?"

 

Oh.

 

-x-

 

Danny gets home with Grace just as John is telling an obviously edited story about one of his first days with McKay--Rodney, if they're apparently about to be brother in laws. 

 

"And he tells me to shoot him in the leg. The device is almost completely untested and he tells me to shoot him--"

 

"Steve! I got an A on my paper for physics." Grace says brightly, too excited to care that she'd interrupted the conversation. John and Rodney seem interested though. 

 

"Yeah? Who did you end up writing about?"

 

"Oh! Most of the class was focusing on the culturally famous physicists. Like half the class did Stephen Hawking? And one kid reported on Tunney, but he got a D because he didn't do enough research to read about Tunney being charged with fraud. I picked McKay. Did you know Dr. McKay's newer work is supposed to be declassified within the next three years?"

 

Rodney chokes on his water. 

 

"You wrote about me?" He asks. She spins, and her eyes go wide. 

 

"You know Dr. McKay?!" She asks excitedly. 

 

"Grace, this is my older brother, John Sheppard. He's getting married to Dr. McKay."

 

"Danno! You and Steve need to get married too! Then I can tell everyone I'm related to Dr. McKay!"

 

-x-

 

They spend the next day with the team, getting to know them. They're out celebrating when Doris shows up. 

 

She actually looks completely terrified to see them together. 

 

"Steve... Who... Who are your new friends?" Her voice is a little brittle. 

 

"Mom, this is my new boyfriend, John. Well... fiancé. We're celebrating." Steve says. No one even blinks.

 

"Steve, I need to talk to you."

 

"Mom, come on. You're not about to tell me you're a homophobe are you?"

 

"No, honey. I just need a minute to talk to you alone--"

 

"So is it because I'm in the Air Force? Is that why you look so unhappy with me being with your son?" John asks. 

 

"I'm not unhappy--"

 

"Mom, just tell me. Everyone's gonna know anyway."

 

"Steve, you can't--"

 

"Can't what, Doris? Can't believe a word you say? Well, that's true."

 

"Yes, isn't it Maureen?"

 

"How..."

 

"You really are ruining a perfectly good engagement dinner." Rodney says. He's glaring at her. 

 

 "And who do you think you are?"

 

"Dr. Rodney McKay--"

 

Her eyes flash gold. 

 

What the fuck.

 

-x-


End file.
